This Buffalo institution has been run by the Guercio family since
1961, when the market was the only place to buy groceries in the
largely Italian neighborhood. As times changed, Guercio’s added a
wholesale market to serve Buffalo’s growing culinary scene. It’s still
the best place in the neighborhood to get (lots of local) produce at a
great price, with even more selection in an attached 10,000-square-
foot warehouse to the right of the main store. You’ll find a mind boggling array of olive and other oils, bagged and boxed pastas, more
canned artichokes and tomatoes than you can shake a stick at, as
well as polenta, quinoa, and plenty of packaged seeds, nuts, and dried
fruit. It accepts orders via fax and telephone. Go online to view product lists by category.

LEXINGTON CO-OP807 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo; 886-2667, lexington.coop

The Co-op is the epitome of a neighborhood market (soon to be intwo neighborhoods as the Hertel Avenue location comes along). Mem-bership buys you not only special bargains, but a real, voting say in howyou want to experience the store. It’s a reliable place to find both or-ganic and traditionally grown produce year round, which is great if youcan’t make it to a farmer’s market. The store buys as much as pos-sible from local farmers; look for the yellow “local” signs and green“organic” signs when picking up your fruits and vegetables. You willfind many alternative protein products including tofu, seitan, and a bulksection with nuts, beans, rice, and pulses. Those with dietary restric-tions, be they vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free, will find much to choosefrom. There’s even a great selection of vegan baked goods like cook-ies, cakes, and brownies; scoop a little cashew milk “ice cream” on theside and you’ve got yourself a good time. Prices on some items may behigher than at your typical grocery store, but the hot and cold preparedfoods made in-house make up for it; they are delicious, healthy, afford-able, and have saved many a tired, hungry person from the drudgeryof dinner prep. The bulk section provides a wide selection of grains,nut, seeds, and dried foods including almonds, cashews, flour, spices,teas, granola, peanut butter (or grind your own nut butters), and tahini.

This small-format, high-end gourmet and specialty food retail shop
is owned by Tops Friendly Markets; it's a great option for fresh and artisan offerings in the Southtowns, and is committed to supporting local farms. The Orchard Park store offers fresh, organic, gluten-free,
eco-friendly, vegan, and gourmet foods with extensive prepared food
options. Products also support organic, all natural, raw, macrobiotic,
and microbiotic diets.

While Trader Joe’s may not have an abundance of fresh, local produce, you can find some sweet deals. Prices on some items that TJ’s
buys in bulk and that ship well like avocados, clementines, and bananas are often lower than at supermarkets. Where Trader Joe's really shines is in the frozen section. Frozen fruits and vegetables are
good quality and relatively inexpensive. It also has a large selection of frozen vegan and vegetarian friendly prepared hors d’oeuvres
and meals, perfect for a quick lunch or party. Packaged goods like
nuts, dried fruits, and grains are a bargain. The store boasts quite
an assortment of non-dairy milks, including various flavors of rice,
soy, almond, and coconut milks. Vegans can try the alternative cream
cheese and shredded mozzarella and “-less” deli items like beefless ground beef and chicken-less strips, as well as a variety of
baked tofu and soy chorizo.

These two very real and
very sassy food-obsessed
women have put together a
cookbook that you wish your
mom cooked from when you
were growing up. The recipes are seriously delicious
and, for the most part, uncomplicated. While you may
have to make a special trip
to find some of the frequently used ingredients, like agar
agar powder to use in lieu of
gelatin for thickening, or vital wheat gluten for making
seitan, most of the recipes
can be made from stuff commonly found in your pantry
or fridge.

MOOSEWOODCOOKBOOKMollie Katzen, Ten Speed Press,1974

As one of the very earliest
popular vegetarian cookbooks
to hit the US market, the charming Moosewood Cookbook holds
a special place in many a vegetable lover’s heart. Mollie Katzen
hand-wrote, illustrated, and locally published a spiral-bound notebook of recipes for vegetarian
dishes inspired by those she and
fellow cooks served at their small
restaurant co-op in Ithaca, New
York. Now, this and subsequent
dog-eared Moosewood cookbooks—The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, Moosewood Restaurant
Low-Fat Favorites, Moosewood
Restaurant New Classics—are a
valuable and nostalgic resource
on the bookshelves of omnivores
and vegetarians alike.

THE COMPLETEVEGETARIAN COOKBOOKAmerica’s Test Kitchen, 2015

If you’re looking for recipes
that are tried, tested, and proven delicious, America’s Test
Kitchen is your first stop. Why
flounder around in the kitchen
with a bunch of kale and a hunk
of tofu when you know you can
find successful vegetarian recipes with the flip of a page? This
wide-ranging collection of flavorful vegetarian recipes covers hearty vegetable mains,
rice and grains, beans and soy,
as well as soups, appetizers,
snacks, and salads. Color photographs illustrate recipes, vegetable preparation, and tricky
techniques and key steps within recipes. Fast stats: More than
300 recipes can be made in forty-five minutes or less; 500 are
gluten-free; and 250 are vegan.

HOW TO COOKEVERYTHING:VEGETARIANMark Bittman, John Wiley &Sons, 2007

The guy knows how to cook
everything, why wouldn’t you
trust him with the vegetarian
stuff? Take note of the subhead of this book, “Simple
Meatless Recipes for Great
Food”—he means it. Bittman
builds on his straightforward discussions of essential ingredients, appliances,
and techniques with helpful sidebars and illustrated
boxes. And it’s a good sign
that there’s nary a faux meat
product to be found in these
pages. The aim is not meat
verisimilitude, but celebrating and savoring plant-based
ingredients with inspiring and
adaptable recipes.